A 330,000-year-old veteran over 5.2 billion FA. Ma Hwang was put to rest with a fork ball on the verge of turning the bases around with two outs. It brought the mood, too a compliment
Jul 21, 2025
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Kim Jin-sung of the LG Twins took the mound at the moment of the biggest crisis and saved him, creating a decisive scene that kept the second place.
Kim Jin-sung took the mound following starter Lim Chan-kyu with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, a 2-2 tie against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium on the 20th, allowing him to overcome the most important moment by allowing one hit and two strikeouts in one ⅓ inning.
Starter Lim Chan-kyu blocked well with one run until the fifth inning, and LG led 2-1 due to Moon Sung-joo's solo shot in the bottom of the first inning, Shin Min-jae's triple in the bottom of the fifth inning and Moon Sung-joo's infield hit. Lim Chan-kyu, who had only two losses in six games and had no victory since his eighth win against Hanwha on May 27, had a good opportunity to keep his team's sole second place.
However, Lim Chan-kyu was shaken at the top of the sixth inning, the last inning of the day. He started with a crisis of 1st and 3rd base with no outs with consecutive hits by Jeon Joon-woo and Yoon Dong-hee, and continued to 1st and 3rd base with 2 outs by catching Yoo Kang-nam with a grounder in front of the pitcher and pinch hitter Jung Hoon with a fly to shortstop, but he was hit by veteran batter Kim Min-sung and eventually allowed a 2-2 tie. And he gave up a straight walk to No. 9 Jeon Min-jae, continuing the crisis of loading the bases with two outs. The next batter is quick first, Hwang Sungbin. Lim Chan-kyu pitched 88 pitches, which was enough, but LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop tried to change the atmosphere by replacing pitchers.
We needed the strongest and most reliable pitcher to get through the crisis, and LG had Kim Jin-sung.
Kim Jin-sung threw the first and second pitches in a row, raising concerns about a walk. He threw a 141km fastball almost to the center on the third pitch, and Hwang Sung-bin just watched and the bat hit the strike zone high on the fourth pitch of the 2B1S, but it was a foul. When it became 2B2S, Kim Jin-sung took out his main weapon, a fork ball. He threw it low, and Hwang Sung-bin fouled it. In the sixth pitch, the 128km fork ball fell low outside again, and Hwang Sung-bin couldn't hit it and struck out swinging.
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He did not win or hold on the day, but escaped the biggest crisis, and LG scored the winning run with Moon Sung-joo's double, Koo Bon-hyuk's sacrifice bunt, and Moon Bo-kyung's double on the left-field line in the bottom of the eighth inning to win 3-2.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also said after the game that `Kim Jin-sung blocked the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth inning, so we were able to bring the overall flow to our side," he praised Kim Jin-sung.
He has a 3.42 ERA with 3 wins, 2 losses, 1 save and 22 holds in 52 games, the most in the team this season and second overall.
Yeom is trying to use the best throwing bullpen pitcher for the second pitcher to take the mound after the starting pitcher. To make sure you cut off the flow of your opponent. In the meantime, Kim Jin-sung has often taken the mound and ended the situation, but there have been ups and downs this year.
Therefore, director Yeom also entrusted Jang Hyun-sik with this task. However, as Jang Hyun-sik has been sluggish recently, Kim Jin-sung has changed his position to come out in the next crisis. He is still showing off his skills by using folk balls that he knows but can't. Last year, the two-year 700 million won FA contract ended, and Kim Jin-sung will receive an annual salary of 330 million won this year on a single-year contract again. This year is also a season in which people have no choice but to say, `What would have happened if Kim Jin-sung had not been brought?'
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
